MOBI handheld computer family

Measurement and manual data collection; typical areas include:

• agriculture
  • animal husbandry (weighing, test milking, etc.)
  • crop production (quantity and value data, etc.)
• forestry (logging, sampling, etc.)
• rail and road transport
• car manufacturing
• control of material flow in plants and warehouses
• reading residential meters, etc.

Examples without claim to be exhaustive:

Hungary: MÁV, Díjbeszedő Holding

Germany: Volkswagen, BMW, Deutsche Bundesbahn

Ausztria: Austrian Federal Railways

Information Technology History Exhibition

Structure

Central unit:

• MOBI-X:
  • 8-bit microprocessor
  • 256 B RAM
  • 2 KB EPROM
  • replaceable 2-4 KB RAM (patent pending)
• PREFIX-2000
  • HCMOS microprocessor, clock speed 6 MHz
  • program memory: 16 KB RAM+EPROM
  • data storage: 40-120 KB RAM

Periphery:

• External devices
  • Commodore and IBM PC dot matrix printer (optional)
  • barcode scanner (optional)
  • V24 serial connection (optional)
  •  MOBI-X
    • 16 control keys (10 digits, period, comma, 4 functions)
    • 8+1 character display
  •  PREFIX-2000
    • • 32 dual-function control keys (full English alphabet, punctuation marks, numbers, 6 function keys)
      • 32-character alphanumeric LCD display

Power supply: built-in battery

• MOBI-X: + additional fast charging power supply
• PREFIX-2000: + mains (220/110V) connector

Weight: MOBI-X: 0.5 kg; PREFIX-2000: 0.4 kg

Operation

The data to be recorded can also be entered from the keyboard, but their source is usually an external data recorder; pre-written programs stored in EPROM are used to perform the operations. The current program can be started with a function key.

Programs can be written relatively easily; apart from the type of data to be recorded, all that is required is the data source and its operating mode; the executable program is compiled by an editor embedded in the operating system.

Also, embedded programs are used to group the recorded data and temporarily store it according to its type; the stored data is then transferred to the processing computer – an IBM PC compatible – by the transfer program. In the PREFIX-2000, the data transfer is controlled by the embedded program that is loaded using the cross compiler.

The stored data can be displayed for verification purposes.

The use of PREFIX-2000 is also facilitated by utilities – real-time clock, frequency generator, data type generator, etc.

Program set

Operating system: own development (patent)

Translation programs:

• assembler
• cross compiler for IBM PC assembler

• editable data collection programs
• calculator program

Historical curiosities

From Péter Gyarmati's introduction: "The requirements were first met by a Hungarian solution (1981), which finally - according to good Hungarian custom - was granted patent protection years later, in 1984. In the meantime, it was already widely used in Hungary, Germany and Austria and the protection remained only on paper. It should be noted that the inventors of the solution participated in the initial development and production and they distributed it, but their rights were not protected by anything due to the slow bureaucracy.

Based on the presented samples and the idea, several electronics companies abroad started manufacturing – with copied operating systems – and only some companies acknowledged the source. Under such circumstances, MOBI-X was born. The parties to the patent protection were: Péter Gyarmati and József Pék. The patent had three elements, the “portable data recording device”, the “removable data storage” and the “controlling mobile operating system”.

The "by-products" of the MOBI family also implement Hungarian ideas: the removable data storage and the mobile operating system.

Resources

General description of data collectors (PDAs)

The story of the birth of MOBI-X

MOBI-X detailed description

PREFIX-2000 detailed description (English)